Veronica Rothchild

In HotZone, a social tactician and associate of Mr. Black.

Background

Background:

Born to a hedge fund manager and a socialite heiress in Scarsdale in the 1990s. Offered full ride physics scholarship to Columbia, graduated with honors, then offered PhD at MIT, but instead went to Julliard to pursue the arts. Midway through, won a supporting role in a Broadway play, and met British hunk at the after-party.

Turns out he works in British intelligence, and they move in together in his condo in London. She’s a natural at parties and he values her presence as a social tactician as well as a magnetic distraction. They travel the world “on business”, and she meets ambassadors, drug lords, tech tycoons, arms dealers, mercenaries, diplomats, assassins, and princes. He occasionally slips away at night to take care of some bit of espionage.

She discovers a talent for languages and has the chance to learn several fluently on all the long chartered flights. Along the way she makes some friends and learns some skills of the trade and even receives a modest commission from the government as an ‘executive assistant’.

Alas, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, her boyfriend does not return from a scuba-diving trip in Turkey. No body is recovered. That was two years ago.

Since then, she has accepted invitations from Mr. Black every so often to join him or his representatives at various private parties attended by international elites. Sometimes she has a more specific social mission, but it’s usually just to engage, watch, and listen and subsequently report on her first impressions of various guests. Mr. Black offers her no compensation (aside from expenses), but sends nice gifts of gratitude and offers occasional access to world experts in fields that interest her.